Jovial Memories

Chapter 10

            Before anyone could began to question what had happened, Mandy winced as she felt a pounding sensation in her head. In pain, she pulled her knees closed to her and rocked back and forth, realizing that leaving the Year Dimension so quickly had not been a wise idea. She had never felt after effects like this before.

            Roy whispered something to Iris that Mandy couldn't pick up on, though it wasn't like she cared anyway. They had just discovered her huge secret, and she knew her life was practically over anyway.

            Iris disappeared after Roy finished speaking to her, and then Roy sat down next to Mandy and gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

            "Are you okay?" he asked, his words causing Mandy's head to pound.

            "Headache," Mandy muttered, her hands finding her head.

            "You must've hit your head when you fainted," Roy told her.

            Mandy smiled lightly. Fainted? Was that all they had thought? Perhaps she'd be able to pull this off after all.

            Roy sat with her in the silence of the janitor's closet for a few moments until Iris returned with a pack of ice that she'd gotten from the nurse's office. Helping Mandy to her feet, both Roy and Iris led Mandy out of the small closet and into the hallway.

            "Do you have a ride home?" Iris asked.

            Mandy nodded. "My mom's picking me up," she explained.

            Both Iris and Roy exchanged nervous glances, and they didn't protest as Mandy slid down against the lockers and sat down. Her Time Precedent was still glued to her hand, and she shoved it in her pocket, not even making a sly attempt to hide it.

            "I knew there was something odd about you," Iris spoke at last.

            So they had seen her use the device. It wasn't still a secret.

            "Doesn't everyone describe me as being odd?" Mandy wondered.

            "That device. It made you faint," Roy pointed out.

            "What device?" Mandy asked, dumbfounded.

            "That's not an ordinary calculator, is it?" Iris wondered.

            "I was lightheaded," Mandy admitted. "I didn't eat much for lunch. I just fainted while doing my homework."

            "Don't play dumb," Roy spoke a little more harshly, which surprised Mandy. He normally acted so kind.

            "We won't tell anyone," Iris promised.

            "How can I be sure?" Mandy asked.

            "Have we been unkind to you at all this entire time?" Roy asked. "Have we treated you like the rest of the school?"

            Mandy eyed him suspiciously, but she knew he had made a good point. Roy and Iris had been the only two people who had acted decent toward her out of everyone else in the entire school.

            "Maybe respecting my privacy would be a good idea," Mandy snapped in response.

            "Maybe we should just leave her alone," Iris whispered.

            "Mandy, you can trust us. The nurse already knows you fainted and will probably make a note of it to your mom. And when you deny you fainted, or when your mom wants more information, they'll come to us," Roy explained in a serious tone.